1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to automated x-ray marking systems, and more particularly to a programmable dental x-ray inscription system which facilitates permanent marking of developed dental x-rays with patient identifying indicia and other information useful in patient record management and dental insurance claim processing.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The use of x-ray photographs is a long established practice in the dental art. The reason for this is quite clear. Dental x-ray photographs (hereinafter "dental x-rays") provide high-definition visible images of the internal structure of a patient's teeth, permitting early identification of cavities, tooth decay, and other dental diseases which otherwise are not visible to the unaided eye of the dentist. Consequently, the use of dental x-rays in the field of dentistry has become a standard practice, and in many instances, required prior to conducting particular procedures such as, for example, root canal, apicoectomy and extraction.
As with most technological innovations, the social impact of dental x-rays has extended beyond those who primarily use them, namely dentists and oral surgeons. For example, when a patient having dental insurance or a dentist accepting insurance assignment for services rendered, submits a dental claim to the patient's insurance carrier, the insurance carrier typically requires the attending dentist to send dental x-rays taken of those teeth involved in the dental claim. This dental x-ray reporting procedure involves mailing a set of developed dental x-rays from the dentist's office to the insurance company's claim department. Typically, these dental x-rays are held in a dental x-ray folder having slots within which periapical size dental x-rays are held. During this procedure, however, a number of problems frequently occur.
For example, one problem is that in the claims department of the insurance company, the dental x-rays of one patient are often mistaken for the dental x-rays of another patient. This occurs primarily because most dental x-rays are typically unmarked as to patient identity and date of exposure, and also because the developed dental x-rays within dental folders frequently dental fall out during handling and mailing. Consequently, at both the dentist office and dental insurance claim department, dental x-rays are frequently dated incorrectly, mishandled or placed in wrong patient charts or wrong dating envelopes. Thus, when clerks at the insurance company attempt to process submitted dental insurance claims, they are often unable to identify which dental x-rays belong to which patient. Consequently, the claim clerks must frequently request a second set of dental x-rays, causing added expense in claim processing, and further delay in payments to dentists and patients alike.
In an effort to avoid the above-described problems within dental offices and claim departments of insurance companies, a number of prior art approaches have been proposed for marking dental x-rays.
One prior art approach has been to use pens, stickers or labels to mark developed dental x-rays with the name of the patient and the date of exposure of the x-ray. However, such a dental x-ray marking technique suffers from a number of significant shortcomings and drawbacks. In particular, the pen markings on the dental x-ray often smear, and patient identification stickers and labels are easily removed and replaced with new stickers or labels containing false information. Consequently, false dental claim submissions can be easily corroborated using this dental marking technique.
An alternative approach to marking dental x-rays has been proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,034,974 to Yurosko and 3,846,634 to Fleming. In both of these U.S. Letters Patents, a method is disclosed for photographically marking dental x-ray film with patient identifying indicia, using a light transparent card or band in conjunction with an identification camera. To photographically imprint patient identifying indicia on a selected portion of an exposed dental x-ray, the patient identifying indicia is either typed or written onto the light transparent card. Then, the card is registered with a selected portion of the exposed dental x-ray on which the patient identifying indicia is to be printed. The exposed dental x-ray and card are then loaded into the identification camera, and only a selected portion of the dental x-ray, where imprinting is desired, is exposed to intense light. Thereafter, the exposed dental x-ray is unloaded from the identification camera, the card removed, and the exposed dental x-ray developed using a conventional photographic development process. The result is a dental x-ray which bears a permanent marking indicating the identity of the patient and the date of exposure of the x-ray. While the above-described U.S. Letters Patents disclose a way and means to permanently mark exposed dental x-rays, this prior art approach suffers from significant shortcomings and drawbacks. In particular, this technique is manually intensive, time-consuming and generally prone to errors in marking. In addition, it involves handling exposed dental x-ray photographs during the photographic marking process, and thus requires working in a dark-room environment.
Thus, there is a great need in the dental art and insurance industry for a method and apparatus for permanently marking developed dental x-rays with patient identifying indicia, while overcoming the shortcomings and drawbacks associated with prior art methodologies and apparatus.